Brodehl retains seat as county commissioner
Randy Brodehl stands in his home library. (Daily Inter Lake FILE)
Flathead County Commissioner Republican Randy Brodehl will serve a second term after beating out his challenger in Tuesday’s election.
Brodehl garnered 67% of the votes cast at 39,461. Democrat James Lockwood earned 19,2003 votes which works out to 33%.
A retired fire chief, Brodehl was elected to the Montana Legislature serving until 2018 before running for county commissioner. He began his current term as commissioner representing District 3 in the western part of the county in 2019.
Leading up to the election, he expressed a desire to keep serving the community and said work in the arena of public safety continues to be a top priority for him.
“I’d like to thank the voters for their continued trust in me as a county commissioner,” he said. “I’d also like to thank my opponent for his willingness to step up and run for this position.”
Political newcomer Lockwood is a retired contracts attorney who lives in Whitefish.
Of the 84,334 registered voters, 62,042 ballots were cast in Flathead County for a voter turnout of 73%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s office. This is slightly higher than the statewide voter turnout of 69%.
Running unopposed, Republican Sara Fredenberg Smith was elected to the position of Clerk of District Court. Current Clerk Republican Peg Allison is retiring after first taking office in 1993.
District Court Judges Amy Eddy and Heidi Ulbricht will retain their seats following the results of the election.
In the race to fill the District Court judge spot currently held by Robert Allison, who did not seek another term, Justice of the Peace judges Eric Hummel and Paul Sullivan faced off. Sullivan came out on top with 27,313 votes compared with Hummel’s 23,435.
A private practice attorney, Sullivan was elected as justice of the peace in 2018. Hummel has been an attorney for 28 years and has served as justice of the peace for eight years.
In Whitefish voters selected five individuals to serve on the Local Government Study Commission. Nathan Dugan, Kevin McDowell, Dakota Whitman, Scott Wurster and Saundra Alessi will serve on the commission as the top vote-getters. Michael Hein earned the least number of votes.
Voters approved amending the Whitefish city charter to allow members of the City Council to receive compensation such as a salary or stipend or health insurance. Any compensation would be set by Council through a resolution following a public hearing.
Voters approved the measure with 2,466 votes in favor and 2,182 against.
Deputy Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.